Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2012 16:44:56 +0000
From: Michael Offutt
Subject: Wraith Chapter Fifteen - Gay Science Fiction
This story is protected under international and Pan-American copyright
conventions. Please remember to donate to Nifty if you are financially able
to do so.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you check my website link below, I now have TWO full
color drawings of Jordan. One is in the gif image so that you can see how I
visualize his appearance in this story. The other is from the sequel to
"Slipstream" called "Oculus" in which he is eighteen and a freshman in
college ("Oculus" isn't published yet, but I sent it away this
weekend). You'll also find a link to a blog post I wrote on Kolin and
killsuits embedded about halfway down the page. This blog post includes a
sexy full color drawing of Kolin modeling in his armor. :) I drew both the
pictures of Jordan and Kolin myself.
"Wraith" uses the main characters featured in the science-fiction novel
"Slipstream," but is its own story that I will post in its entirety on
Nifty. Both of these tales are based on the events established in the
short story, "The Insanity of Zero." If you like Jordan, Kathy, and Kolin,
please consider giving "Slipstream" a read.
If you are a reviewer for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Fictionwise, or would
just like to talk about my stories on your blog, please contact me for a
complimentary e-copy of "Slipstream" in .pdf format.
Here is my author information:
Website: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/books.html
Email: kavrik@hotmail.com
Twitter: @MichaelOffutt
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Slipstream/164452693676933
*****
Chapter Fifteen
"Why are you guys being so quiet?" Jordan asked.
Kathy and Kolin stared out the window at the factory walls. In the
morning sunlight, the red brick, awash in black soot in places, appeared
caked in blood.
"It's a little foreboding," Kathy said at last. "But what choice do
we have?"
From the front seat, Jordan eyed Kolin over the bridge of his narrow
but prominent nose. The Brit looked confused, almost frightened. He leafed
through the journal papers Jordan had handed to him one more time; then he
stuffed them back into the scientist's satchel.
"I can't remember any of this," he mouthed, with hardly a whisper
coming from between his lips. "Jordy, I-I don't recall much of my childhood
to be honest. But I thought I grew up in Kilvarough City, like a lot of
other blokes. I'm a lot older than you, so my memories are kind of
foggy. But, I can promise you I'm not the Adam referred to in these
records. I'm not perfect. I have physical flaws. Some might even call me
ugly."
"Oh shut up," Jordan said, rolling his eyes. "You're beautiful."
Kolin and Kathy stared at him with questioning looks. Jordan's face
drained of color and he quickly backtracked.
"I-I mean f-for a guy," Jordan stammered. "H-handsome, I guess is the
right word. If I were into guys, WHICH I'M NOT, I could see that you'd
probably make chicks happy. Like that Eve...s-she probably thinks you'd be
attractive." Jordan pinched his eyes closed in embarrassment and tapped the
back of his head against the seat. Kathy tightened her jaw, said nothing,
and put a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder.
Kolin looked almost disappointed when Jordan finished talking. "I
guess I just have never seen myself like that," he managed to whisper.
Kathy turned to Kolin and said, "For what it's worth, you're one of
the most handsome guys I've ever seen."
Kolin smiled, but continued to study Jordan. "You and your brother
are incredibly fit."
She let out a derisive snort. "T.M.I., Kolin. Little bro's head is
fat enough. If you're going to talk like that, maybe it's a good thing that
you have no voice."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jordan asked her. He kicked his shoes
up on the dashboard and handed her the most flinty of looks.
She shrugged. "You're not exactly the most humble person I know is
all."
"I'm VERY humble."
She chuckled. "And pigs fly."
Jordan scowled. He glanced at Kolin's face and remembered something a
person said to him once. You can tell a man's years from their eyes. But
Kolin's looked ageless. Whoever had said that was fucking wrong. "You
seriously don't remember your childhood?"
He shook his head. "Jordy, it was almost a century ago."
Once more, Jordan's eyes opened as wide as cup saucers. He tried to
imagine that. He tried to comprehend the length of years Kolin had
lived. He found himself in awe that liquid life could suspend Kolin's age
forever in the mid-twenties. The Brit simply looked that good.
God, I bet he's great in bed, Jordan thought, fantasizing of taking
Kolin's engorged cock between his lips, sucking on it, and tasting the hot
cum.
When Jordan realized he'd almost uttered that out loud, he felt his
cheeks grow hot and he stared straight forward through the cracked
windshield at the blue steel garage door. "Did I just say something?"
Jordan asked out loud.
"No. Did you have another thought about going inside?" Kathy asked.
He shook his head quickly. "N-no. Mind's a blank! I just wanted to
make sure." Sweat rolled down the side of his neck.
"Stop being weird," Kathy said, face palming.
"We could be walking into a trap. I say we just change the tire and
get out of St. Louis," Kolin stated.
Jordan breathed in to calm himself.
He sounds afraid. Kolin isn't afraid of anything.
He angled his head to give Kolin's hands a look and verified that
they trembled. A quick read of the eyes revealed fear lurking behind those
peepers. They also looked wet, like he could cry at any moment. But Kolin
wouldn't cry--Jordan knew that. The Brit had switches inside his head that
he could flip that would shut off any water works. That's how trained
assassins worked.
God, what a stud, Jordan thought. I wish I could do that. "We don't
know what to expect out in the Waste, Kolin," Jordan replied.
"We don't know what to expect inside this place," Kathy
interrupted. "Jordan, we could be walking into a trap!"
He sighed and the breath he expelled from his lips made his blond
bangs flutter. "Look, I know the danger. But there's a real opportunity
here. If these notes are correct, this place could be unmanned. And there's
a vehicle in there...something that can fly. Plus, what about the
Armageddon device? Don't you think that's worth a looksee? What if we just
keep going on and it goes off? Kat, that could kill us all. If Zero or
Wraith or whatever it calls itself now is inside this building, then it
could have its finger on the button. We need to find out. It's in our best
interest that the monsters don't die right now. If they do, whatever kills
them could take us with it."
"But what if Wraith IS inside? What do we do then? All we know is
that he's the king monster. I don't know about you, but I don't want to
meet the king monster," Kathy said.
Jordan stared at her, his mouth a straight line as he sucked on his
lip deep in thought. "Then we unplug him."
"What?" Kolin asked.
"We unplug him. You said Zero is some kind of machine, right? That
means he needs energy. He's probably not the real Zero either. I'm thinking
he's a hologram or a robot or something that is like an arm of the real
Zero. You know, kind of like the second or third handset for a main phone
base. But the main machine is not going to be located out here in the
middle of nowhere. No...whatever's in this place was put here for one
purpose. To engineer a perfect human being to restart humanity on a newly
terraformed world. Something that precise is not going to be the real deal
because it requires too much specialization. And being out here all these
years has corrupted it, made it forget who or what it is. That's why it
calls itself 'Wraith.' It took its name from those letters on that sign."
He pointed out the window to the sign on the side of the building. "It
forgot who it was."
"I swear, you see everything," Kolin said. "I hadn't noticed that."
"I'm smart," Jordan said, tapping the side of his head with a
finger. He grinned to show how pleased he was with himself.
Kathy shook her head. "Oh please. Stop patting yourself on the back."
"Kolin, I'll be with you the entire time. There's nothing to be
afraid of. Let's just walk up there together, go inside, and take a
look. You might start to remember your childhood? Is that such a bad thing?
There might be wonderful memories waiting there. And aren't you in the
least bit curious about Formula 111?"
"Or there could be nightmares, Jordy," Kathy offered. "It could
traumatize him."
He nodded, acknowledging that this also could be true. Without
warning, he reached between the seats and grasped Kolin's hand in his
own. He could feel Kolin's pulse through the warmth of his friend's
skin. "Trust me."
"Fine," Kolin mouthed. "I trust you completely."
Then, they got out of the Hummer, walked up the ramp, and stood
before the door. Behind them, the dogs continued their barking from the
invisible line at the gate. He watched them for a moment, and then pulled
out the magnetic entry key. He waved it in front of a pad next to the door.
Jordan heard an audible click. Then the blue metal door began to roll
up, revealing a garage large enough to hold five vehicles on the other
side. Lights flicked on and shone brightly off the polished concrete
floor. Jordan spotted a door on the east wall. A steel staircase led up to
it from the parking area. A steel deck wrapped around three-quarters of the
room. He counted several work benches, tool cabinets, a hydraulic vehicle
lift, hoses, oil cans, and other shop implements. All of it looked cared
for and someone had arranged them neatly so that they could easily be
found.
The three of them stepped inside. Jordan pressed a red button on a
switch that hung from the ceiling and behind them, the door descended once
more. When it shut, Jordan thought it sounded like the closing of a tomb.
*****
I plan on posting Chapter Sixteen around Wednesday. There are Twenty-One
chapters total in this novella, so the end is near!